The present invention relates to shoes, and more particularly, relates to an improved footbed for use with golf shoes.
Golf shoes generally include a shoe upper joined to a midsole to define a chamber for receiving the golfer""s foot. The midsole is usually joined to an outsole on an outer surface for interacting with the ground. The inner surface of the midsole is adjacent a footbed that rests within the chamber of the shoe and contacts the wearer""s sole. The midsole and footbed provide cushioning for the wearer""s foot so they are typically formed of materials that are softer than the outsole material.
In one round of eighteen holes of golf a golfer may walk about 4 to 5 miles. Over such distances a golfer""s health can depend on their shoes as various foot and, less obviously, back problems can be linked to footwear. During this activity, a golfer""s performance also depends on the ability of the golfer""s shoes to provide a solid base of support and provide necessary cushioning.
Shoes should be both comfortable and stable. Comfortable shoes are those that allow natural foot movements during walking which means forefoot flexibility and that allow torsion movement between forefoot and the rear of the foot. Golf shoes should be rigid in the lateral direction for good stability when hitting the ball. In general, a very comfortable shoe does not provide sufficient support and a very stable shoe may be too stiff and heavy. These competing requirements must be balanced in order to provide the best of both.
One example of a cushioning sole construction in a shoe is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,430 to Peterson. The shoe construction in this patent has a sole with two cushions which are filled with fluid of a particular viscosity and the cushions are interconnected by a number of channels. One cushion is positioned underneath the heel of the foot and the other is position underneath the transverse forward arch of the foot. When wearers put down their heels on the ground, fluid is forced forwards from the rear cushion through the channels to the forward cushion which expands. When the front arch of the foot is depressed, fluid is forced from the forward cushion to the rear cushion which expands. In this shoe, cushioning of the portion of the wearer""s foot not resting on the fluid-filled cushions or channels relies only by the sole material.
There remains a need for footbeds, which are easy to manufacture and improve the cushioning of a wearer""s entire foot.
The present invention relates to a footbed comprising dynamic and static air chambers. To that end, the footbed includes a base and a layer of material joined to one side of the base such that at least one first or static chamber and a plurality of second or dynamic chambers are formed between the base and the layer. Each static chamber is isolated from the other chambers, each dynamic chamber is in fluid communication with the other dynamic chambers.
In one embodiment, the dynamic chambers includes fluid, and a volume of the fluid in these chambers is less than a total internal volume of these chambers. As a result, the fluid can be easily displaced from one dynamic chamber to the other such chambers during a wearer""s walk cycle.
In another embodiment, the footbed includes a plurality of first chambers. These first chambers can be located in the toe section, the shank section or the heel section of the foot bed.
According to one feature of the present invention, the dynamic chambers can include at least one forefoot chamber, a heel chamber, and a shank chamber. The shank chamber extends between the forefoot chambers and the heel chamber.
According to another feature of the present invention, the static chambers can be filled with fluid or with air and discrete pieces of cushioning material. In this embodiment, the cushioning material may be formed of thermoplastic rubber.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is directed to a shoe comprising an upper, a midsole, an outsole, and a footbed. The upper, midsole, and outsole are joined together to define an opening for receiving the footbed. The footbed includes a base with a lower surface and a layer of material. The layer of material is coupled to the lower surface of the base so that static and dynamic chambers are formed between the lower surface of the base and the layer of material. The static chambers are isolated, and the dynamic chambers are in fluid communication with one another.
According to one embodiment of such a shoe, the foot bed is removable. According to another embodiment of such a shoe, the second chambers include forefoot, shank and heel chambers.